the country without government approval. we have more. michelle? >> it's an historical day, absolutely. there are thousands of people in line in cuba today. today was the first day where it was much easier to leave. before the changes that went into place today, people had to get an exit visa, permission from the government to leave. they had to have letters from -- of invitation. it was exceedingly difficult to leave. that is no longer the case. when these changes were announced several months ago, a lot of skeptics within the island outside the island said, is this really going to happen? well, today, yanni sanchez, the most famous dissident blogger there, she tweeted about how she'd apply for a passport and try to leave. and today she tweeted wow, they tell me that i will get my passport in early february. and she is going to travel to a social media conference as a result. what's also important is even though you want to leave, you won't necessarily be stigmatized. they won't seize all of your belongings as they used to do in the old days. so some pretty significant changes. why ar